Sunday, May 20th, 2012

On Saturday the Seacoast United Phantoms (NPSL) team lost 3-0 away to NY Red Bull. Red Bull, a MLS club, primarily utilized their U23’s in the NPSL league. The game was played in Newark NJ, just minutes away from Red Bull Stadium.

Red Bull had the better of the first half and deservedly led 1-0 at the break. The Phantoms did create a couple of good chances and for the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half were the better team.

A header by Phantoms striker Sean MacDonald was cleared off the line, and the Red Bull goalkeeper made a few very good saves on shots by striker Christian Rodriguez.

Against the run of play, New York scored on a tremendous through ball that cut the Phantoms defense, extending the lead to 2-0. While the Phantoms pushed forward to try to get back into the game, Red Bull scored again in the last few minutes to win 3-0.

Rhode Island Reds 3, Seacoast United Phantoms 1After staying in NJ on Saturday night, the Phantoms travelled up to Rhode Island on Sunday to play against the Rhode Island Reds in Cranston for a 2pm kickoff. With an even start to begin the game, the Reds took the lead roughly 20 minutes in from a very good strike.The Phantoms then created some good opportunities, hitting the bar, and just missing the goal on a couple occasions.

The Reds then scored on a breakaway, followed by Phantoms midfielder Jimmy Petruccelli scoring a goal from 25 yds out into the top corner to make it 2-1 at halftime.

The 2nd half was very similar to Saturday’s performance where the Phantoms began with really good football, creating several quality opportunities.

With about 10 minutes to go in the game, the Phantoms were awarded a penalty after a foul on Christian Rodriguez. Unfortunately Christian’s penalty hit the post and the Phantoms missed a chance to equalize. The score remained 2-1.

Phantoms pushed on in an attempt to even the game, but the Reds scored on another breakaway to win 3-1.

Although the squad lost both games on the road, there are still a # of positives to take from the weekend’s performances. The Phantoms are look forward to playing the Seacoast United Mariners on Wednesday, May 23rd at their Outdoor Complex in Epping, NH while searching for first win of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm on Field #4, with a matchup between both clubs’ WPSL teams preceding the match at 5pm.